[Footnote 369: Hakluyt, II. 660.]
Next morning early, being Tuesday in Easter week, the 24th of April 1590, we had service according to our usual custom, praying to Almighty God to save us from the hands of the tyrannous Spaniards, whom we justly imagined and had always found to be our most mortal enemies on the sea. Having finished our prayers, and set ourselves in readiness, we perceived them coming towards us, and knew them indeed to be the Spanish gallies, commanded by Andrea Doria, viceroy for the king of Spain in the Straits of Gibraltar, and a notable enemy to all Englishmen. When they came near us, they waved us amain for the king of Spain, and in return we waved them amain for the Queen of England[370]; at which time it pleased the Almighty so to encourage our hearts, that the nearer they came we the less feared their great strength and huge number of men; they having to the amount of two or three hundred in each galley. It was concluded among us, that our four largest and tallest ships should be placed in the rear, the weaker and smaller ships going foremost; and so it was performed, every one of us being ready to take part in such successes as it should please God to send.
[Footnote 370: This waving amain seems to have been some salutation of defiance, then usual at sea.--E.]
The gallies came upon us very fiercely at the first encounter, yet God so strengthened us that, even if they had been ten times more, we had not feared them at all. The Salomon, being a hot ship with sundry cast pieces in her, gave the first shot in so effectual a manner on their headmost galley, that it shared away so many of the men that sat on one side of her, and pierced her through and through, insomuch that she was ready to sink: Yet they assaulted us the more fiercely. Then the rest of our ships, especially the four chiefest, the Salomon, Margaret and John, Minion, and the Ascension, gave a hot charge upon them, and they on us, commencing a hot and fierce battle with great valour on both sides, which continued for the space of six hours. About the commencement of this fight, our fleet was joined by two Flemish vessels. Seeing the great force of the gallies, one of these presently struck his sails and yielded to the enemy; whereas, had they exerted themselves on our side and in their own defence, they needed not to have been taken in this cowardly manner. The other was ready also to have yielded immediately, and began to lower his sails: But the trumpeter of that ship drew his faulcion, and stepping up to the pilot at the helm, vowed that he would put him instantly to death, if he did not join and take part with the English fleet: This he did, for fear of death, and by that means they were defended from the tyranny which they had otherwise assuredly found among the Spaniards.
When we had continued the fight somewhat more than six hours, God gave us the upper hand, so that we escaped the hands of so many enemies, who were constrained to flee into harbour to shelter themselves from us. This was the manifest work of God, who defended us in such sort from all danger, that not one man of us was slain in all this long and fierce assault, sustaining no other damage or hurt than this, that the shrouds and back-stays of the Salomon, which gave the first and last shot, and sore galled the enemy during the whole battle, were clean shot away. When the battle ceased, we were constrained for lack of wind to stay and waft up and down, and then went back again to Tition [Tetuan] in Barbary, six leagues from Gibraltar, where we found the people wondrously favourable to us; who, being but Moors and heathen people, shewed us where to find fresh water and all other necessaries. In short, we had there as good entertainment as if we had been in any place in England. The governor favoured us greatly, to whom we in return presented such gifts and commodities as we had, which he accepted of very graciously: And here we staid four days.
After the cessation of the battle, which was on Easter Tuesday, we remained for want of wind before Gibraltar till the next morning, being all that time becalmed, and therefore expected every hour that they would have sent out a fresh force against us: But they were in no condition to do so, all their gallies being so sore battered that they durst not come out of harbour, though greatly urged thereunto by the governor of that town; but they had already met with so stout resistance, that they could not be prevailed on to renew the fight.
While we were at Tetuan, we received a report of the hurt we had done the gallies; as we could not well discern any thing during the fight, on account of the great smoke. We there heard that we had almost spoiled those twelve gallies, which we had shot clean through, so that two of them were on the point of sinking; and we had slain so many of their men, that they were not able to fit out their gallies any more all that year. After going to Tetuan, we attempted three several times to pass the straits, but could not: Yet, with the blessing of God, we came safely through on the fourth attempt; and so continued on our voyage with a pleasant breeze all the way to the coast of England, where we arrived on the beginning of July 1590.
SECTION IX.
A valiant sea fight in the Straits of Gibraltar, in April 1591, by the Centurion of London, against five Spanish gallies.
In the month of November 1590, sundry ships belonging to different merchants of London sailed with merchandise for various ports within the Straits of Gibraltar; all of which, having fair wind and weather, arrived safe at their destined ports. Among these was the Centurion of London, a very tall ship of large burden, yet but weakly manned, as appears by the following narrative.